The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7460 p36
14 July 2007

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News summary

Heart failure services looked at in health watchdog report

How well NHS organisations are taking forward services for people with heart failure and, in particular, their adherence to National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance, is discussed in a report, published last week by the Healthcare Commission (PDF 1.2MB).

Commenting on the report, Anna Hodgkinson, British Heart Foundation heart failure pharmacist at Lambeth Primary Care Trust, told The Journal that pharmacists can play an important role in the management of patients with heart failure. She said that the following areas are key to successfully managing heart failure in line with the recommendations of NICE:

• Identifying patients with new or worsening symptoms

• Undertaking medicines use reviews and medication reviews to identify patients with sub-optimal regimens

• Addressing issues such as concordance

• As prescribers, participating in drug optimisation or dose-titration schemes independently or as part of a multidisciplinary team